Mechanical stoking apparatus.



R. J. HIMMELRIGHT. MECHANICAL STOKING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED DEC.5, 1913 1., 173,270., Patented Feb. 29, 1916.

4 SHEE1SSHEET I.

l witnesses R. J. HHVIMELRIGHT. MECHANICAL STOKING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 5, I913.

l,1?3.,27. Patented Feb. 29,1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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I- Witnesses R. J. HIMMELRIGHT.

MECHANICALSTOKING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 5, 1913.

1,173.,2'7Q Patented Feb.29,1916.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3- %ibaoaeo A R. 1. HIMMELRIGHT/ MECHANICAL STOKING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 5, 1913 1. 17327% Patented Feb. 29,1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4- Fig.7. 29 Fig.8.

mm. W (Z. 35%

RALEIGH J". HIMMELRIGHT, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, RALEIGH J. HIMMEL- RIGHT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, Marion county, and

State of Indiana, have invented and discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Mechanical Stoking Apparatus, of

\ which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to mechanical stok- 1@ ing apparatus for locomotives and its object is to provide means whereby the fuel may be distributed in such manner as to obtain a thorough combustion of the entire body thereof fed to the fire box and thus a 5 more edective utilization of the heat energy obtained than has been possible in practice with devices of the same class.

To this end my invention is embodied in preferable form in the construction and arrangement hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In these drawings, Figure l. is a plan view of a part of a locomotive tender and a part of adocomotive, particularly showing the fire box; Fig. 2, a side view in elevation of the same parts; Fig. 3, an enlarged rear end View of the fire box conveyer operating mechanism taken on the section line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4, an enlarged section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5, an enlarged detail section of the conveyer trough section leading from the tender and the connecting section; Fig. 6, a cross section on the line 66 of Fig. 5; Fig. 7, an enlarged detail section on line 7'-7 of Fig. 2; Fig. 8, an

enlarged detail plan view of the valve operating cam drum; Fig. 9, an elevation of said cam drum; Fig. 10, a section on line 10-40 of Fig. 9; Fig. 11, a detail section on lines l1l1 of Figs. 10 and 12; Fig. 12, a detail section on line 1212 of Fig. 11; Fig. 13, a detail of a modified form of cam and Fig 14 a detail section on line 14.-14 of Fig. 13. y

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates the tank of a locomotive. Mounted within this tank is a fuel receiving box 2, which is adapted to be closed at its upper part by sliding doors 3. These doors are provided.

with holes 4 which are adapted to be engaged by a suitable hooked rod which is operatedgby the fireman to open or close the sliding doors. Thecoal is piled in the tender above the box 2 and when any of the doors is opened the coal will fall into the box. 'iFxtending through this box is a spiral Specification of Letters Patent.

MECHANICAL STOKING APPARATUS.

Patented Feb. ea, rare.

Application filed December 5, 1913. Serial No. 804,881.

screw conveyer 5. The box is prolonged in a. trough or casing 6 which extends forwardly from the tank or tender under the cab floor of the locomotive. This trough communicates with another trough section 7 extending angular-1y and outwardly from the first trough and in the trough section 7 is mounted another section 8 of a spiral screw conveyer. The section 7 at its inner end adjacent-to section 6 is lower than the latter section whereby it is adapted to receive by gravity the coal fed from trough 6.

The trough section 7 communicates at its outer end at 9 with a trough section 10. Tn the trough section 10, is mounted another section 11 of a spiral screw conveyer which extends forwardly parallel to the side of the fire box to a point adjacent the front wall of the fire box. The conveyer section 8 and the section 11 are connected at the junction 9 of their respective troughs by a universal joint coupling, 12. The shaft 1 3 of the conveyer section '11 is provided at its forward end with a gear 14 which is adapted to mesh witha gear 15 carried by a driving shaft 16 which is provided intermediate its ends with a universal joint 17. The rear end of this driving shaft is provided with a worm wheel 18 which is driven by a worm 19 mounted on a shaft 20 of a change speed engine 21 suitably mounted on the locomotive,

preferably below the body thereof but having suitable means of control, extending into the locomotive cab. The gear connections above described serve for driving the conveyor section ll and the speed at which this conveyer'is driven may be altered as described by changing the speed of the engine.

- Carried by the shaft 16 near the rear end thereof is a ear wheel 22, which is connected by a c ain 23 with a gear wheel 2t on the extended shaft 25 of the first con veyer section 5, whereby said section 5 is rotatably driven synchronously with the other two sections of the conveyer.

The two trough sections 7 and 10 are preferably connected by means or a pin 26 which provides a flexible joint between these sections which serves to permit the trough to yield to the action of the conveyer and thus prevent a binding action thereof.

The coal used is slack or broken pieces of asize running up to dimensions capable of forcing through a two and one-half inch screen mesh. This coal is adapted to be fed forward from the box in the tank by the 13 rearwardly over a portion of the grate.

The trough containing the conveyer is turned at an angle at its forward end and enters the fire box and leads to a substantially flat horizontal coal receiving plate 27 15 mounted preferably in one corner of the fire box at the forward end thereof. This plate is located above the level of the grate 28 and below a deflecting and bafile arch 29,

which is supported by an arch tube 30 extending from wall to wall of the fire box.

This arch is made of fire brick and is of the form custimarily employed in mechanical locomotive stokers and serves to deflect the flames and products of combustion toward the rear of the fire box and to prevent the fuel from being carried immediately toward the flues by the draft through the grate, so as to thereby retain the fuel in the fire box until it has been properly burned and to confine the flames to the grate area to effect this combustion so that all of the heat energy of the fuelwill be effectively utilized.

Projecting upwardly through the bottom of the fire box and through the plate 27 are jet pipes 31, 32 and 33, which terminate in suitable nozzles and are adapted to receive steam from a suitable source of supply such .as the main boiler, and, to project-jets of steam across the surface of the plate immediately adjacent the opening from the conveyer, so as to therebydistribute the 'coal' deposited by the conveyer on the plate over the area of the fire box. These steam jets are preferably three in number and they are 945 so disposed as to project the coal in different streams having different directions, within the fire box. us the jet.31 is adapted to direct the coal substantially in the direction indicated by the lines 34, that is toward the rear of the fire box, but in a line closely following the side of said fire box. The jet of pipe 32 is adapted to direct the .fuel distrib uted thereby substantially in the lines indicated at 35, and is, substantiallyover the center of the grate, while the jet 33 is adapt ed to distribute the coal in the lines 36. :Ihe pipes connecting with the steam jet nozzles are adapted to be controlled by valves interposed'in the lines of such pipes and which valves are adapted to be automatically and intermittently operated in succession by mechanism located in the locomotive cab. These valves are designated by the reference characters 37, 38 and 39 correspondingrespectively to the steam jet as desired.

of these valvesare adapted to be automatically operated by means of separate rows of cams mounted on a rotary cam drum 40..

This cam drum is adapted to be driven by a belt 41 connecting a gear on the shaft of the drum with ,a gear on the drive shaft 16. The cams for :the respective controlling valves are mounted -in rows transversely spaced-apart on the surface of the drum and the respective rows corresponding to the above valves are designated by the numerals 42, 43 and 44. It will be seen that owing to the series of cams for each valve, said valve is adapted to be operated intermittently. The cams of the different rows are also staggered with respect to the cams of the adjoining rows whereby the operation ofthe respective valves will also be successive. By this arrangement, one of the steam jet nozzles, as for instance, the nozzle ofpipe 31, will be first operated by one of the cams in the row 42 to project a body of fuel across the grate and into the fire box and this 11ozzle will then be cut off by the rotation of the cam drum and then the next nozzle 32 will be operated by a cam of the adjoining row Y and then the latter nozzle will be closed and then the third nozzle will be opened, so as to project the fuel therefrom and this operation will be continued by the automatic action of the drum, the jet nozzles being suctermittent and successive streams of fuel in different directions being driven over the surface of the grate. The cams are so mounted on the drum as to be .capable of being adjusted out of the line of their respective valve rods, in order that the intervals between the operations of the valves may be changed or one of the valves cut out of operation altogether. To this end, as shown in Figs. 10 to 12 inclusive, each cam is adapt ed to project through anenlarged slot 45,- whereby it is permitted tobe turned down out of the path of the roller oh'the end of the valve rod. Each cam is mounted. on a slidable shaft 46, which has a'squared head 47, adapted to he slid into and out of a squared socket in the wall of the drum in order to lock the rod against turning or make it free to be turned for adjusting the cam. A spring 48 serves to normally hold the cam shaft outwardly. in locked position. no.

In Figs. 13 and 14, a modified form of adjustable cam is shown in which "the cam .49

is adapted to be slid' in and out by means of cessively and intermittently opened and in asliding rod- 50. ..A globe valve 51 is interposed in eagh of the pipe lines 31, 32 and .33 whereby the steam from the boiler through the lines may be entirely out off or regulated In the operation of the device,'.-the stoker or fireman will open the sliding doorsin the box2, admitting fuel to the conveyer which meagre carries the same to the front part of the firebox and thereupon the steam jet nozzles operate to distribute the fuel over the grate surface in different streams intermittently and successively, as above described.

The advantage of distributing the fuel from the front end of the fire box and from a point underneath the baflie arch is that the v fuel must travel substantially the entire length of the grate and in so doing must pass over the burning bed of fuel on the grate and will fall upon the grate surface and be consumed thus avoiding the danger of part of the coal being carried upwardly between the rear end ofthe box and the arch by the strong draft without being burned, as in those constructions in which the fuel is fed into the fire box at the rear end thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what 7 locomotives, in combination with a fire box,

coal containing means, mechanical apparatus for conveying the coal from said containing means to a point on one side andat the front end of the fire box, means for rereceiving the coal thereat, and a plurality of jets operable to discharge blasts in different directions from said receiving point for distributing the coal throughout the fire box, substantially as described.

3. In mechanical stoking apparatus for locomotives, in combination with a fire box,

coal containing means, mechanical coal coning into veying means leading from said containing means to the front end of the fire box, a

battle arch leading into the furnace rear wardly from the front end of the fire box above the grate, means for receiving the coal beneath and adjacent the base of said arch, devices for directing blasts in different directions for distributing the coal throughout the fire box, and controlling means for said blasts located at the rear end of the fire box, substantially as described.

4. In a mechanical stoking apparatus, in combination with a fire box, means for feeding fuel thereto, a series of jet nozzles for distributing the fuel into the fire box, controlling valves for said nozzles, a source of gaseous fuel for said jet nozzles, a rotary drum, a. series of cams on said rotary drum operable to actuate said valves, said cams being staggered whereby said valves are adapted to be operated successively, and means for adjusting said cams, substantially as described.

5. In mechanical stoking apparatus for locomotives, in combination with a fire box, coal containing means, coal conveying means leading from said containing means. to the front end of the fire box, a battle arch leadthe furnace rearwardly from the front end of the fire box above the grate, means for receivingthe coal mounted below said arch adjacent the base thereof, separate 7 mechanisms for distributing the fuel throughout the fire box in different directions and means for successively and intermittently operating said mechanisms, substantially as described.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal at Indianapolis, Indiana,

this third day of December, A. D. nineteen hundred and thirteen.

RALEIGH J HIMMELRIGHT. Witnesses:

H. P. Doonrrrnn, A. G. Bros. 

